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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"It's not about winning the belt at this point. For me, I already fought some of the best people there are. I already did, you know, what I need to do for me. So now it's just more about, you know, having the right fights, making the right deals. Because for me, the guys who I beat are already the best there are... At this point in time, they're going to use me to fight the most important guys. Because these guys they got out there right now aren't very... they're not really shining too hard. So they'll use me anytime they need a guy for a good fight. [When] they need a real fighter who fights the way that they want to see, then all they gotta do is make a deal with me."
-UFC 183's Nick Diaz talks about his current mentality on continuing in the UFC, as well his thoughts on the current crop of "stars" in the UFC, during a media conference call for next week's pay-per-view (via MMAFighting.com).
Penick's Analysis: There are a few fighters on the UFC roster right now who are in this mode of strictly being a prize fighter. The two at the top of that list are Diaz here and the recently signed Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. There are a lot of guys trying to prove themselves as the very best in several different divisions, but guys like Diaz and Rampage are an exception with which the UFC can take advantage as far as viewership is concerned. Diaz sees that, he leveraged it for a contract he was willing to sign last year; regardless of the outcome of this fight with Anderson Silva, if the UFC feels they can sell prominent Diaz fights against other well known competitors, they're going to continue to utilize him.
[Nick Diaz art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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